1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to the field of medical devices, and more specifically, to a non-invasive cardiac device which can be used in the treatment of many heart ailments.
2. Prior Art.
The treatment of heart ailments has evolved many medical devices. For example, in instances where a person is suffering from irregular heart beats, it is sometimes necessary to "defibrillate" the heart by means of high voltage electric paddles. While these have a number of disadvantages, because a life or death situation is usually involved, they are extensively used. Other medical devices also associated with the heart, include surgically inserted pacemakers. Such pacemakers are used, at least in one embodiment, to encourage the heart to beat in a predetermined manner. Yet other medical devices include the well known ECG machines which, while not used directly in the treatment of the patient, are used to determine whether a patient's heart is beating properly or whether there are arrhythmias.
Thus, there exists a plurality of heart-related devices which serve different needs of the patient. These devices tend to be relatively complex, in some situations even requiring surgery before they can be used, are expensive to make, and can be dangerous both to the patient as well as to medical personnel. There has thus existed for a long time a need for a device which can perform a plurality of different functions which would not suffer from the shortcomings discussed hereinabove. That is, a device which would not require the type of surgery associated with the insertion of present-day pacemakers, but which could still perform a pacemaking function. Likewise, there is a need for a device which could be used to "shock" the heart so as to alleviate an arrhythmia, but not suffer from the dangers of present-day electric paddles. There is also a need for a device which would permit a more exacting determination of a patient's ECG. More cogently, this device would be capable of insertion and function in an emergency wherein pacing, defibrillation or scanning the electrogram is needed. Other existing devices do not provide for emergency pacing in this manner, nor do they combine all three functions.
These and other advantages are achieved by the device of the present invention.